President Obama joins in singing “Sweet Home Chicago” during the “In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues” concert in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 21, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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Today (all times Eastern):
10:0: President Obama meets with the Dalai Lama
11:15: Attends the Democratic Governors Association Meeting, State Dining Room
1:15 Press briefing by Jay Carney
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Michael Tomasky: Obamacare Wins on Specifics
If Republicans can keep discussion around the Affordable Care Act vague, they’ll win in the midterms. The party of health care should collect stories of success and confront the party of no.
The big electoral question hanging over Democrats, of course, is what to do about Obamacare this fall. The pundits say: It’s death! The Democrats are gonna get killed. The Democratic consultants advise their candidates to be as mealy-mouthed as they can possibly get away with being and change the topic as quickly as possible.
The pundits might end up being right after all the votes are counted. But I say the quickest way for Democrats to guarantee that the pundits end up being right is to take their consultants’ advice and pussy-foot around the issue. Democrats who do that will be hoping they sound “reasonable,” but what they’ll really be sounding, and everyone will hear it, is timorous, callow, and totally without conviction. If Democrats are going to say they support the ACA at all—and most of them are going to have to—they might as well do it in a full-throttle and in-your-face way. And they can. The material is there if they just have the onions to use it.
More here
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More than $200 a month in savings: #ThisIsWhy the Affordable Care Act matters to Jake. http://t.co/Tcen2Ic1Dw pic.twitter.com/zDL7W0IaYw
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 20, 2014
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Steve Benen: A closer look at latest ACA ‘horror story’
It’s hard to miss the pattern: the right identifies an “Obamacare victim,” who receives a fair amount of attention and finds themselves featured in a misleading attack ad. Soon after, reality sets in – the ACA “horror story” draws closer scrutiny and the story turns out to be quite different than the one first presented to the public.
I tried to keep up with all of them for a while, but I’ve literally lost count of how many times this has happened.
The new one is an attack ad in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, sponsored by the Koch-financed Americans for Prosperity, featuring a woman named Julia Boonstra….
More here
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Help tell the story of how the Affordable Care Act is working for Americans: http://t.co/bc8iVNTwLY
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 20, 2014
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Jonathan Bernstein: Catch of the Day: Republicans Fire, and Miss, at Obamacare
Kevin Drum at Mother Jones asks the obvious question about yet another overinflated or inaccurate Obamacare sob story from Republicans, in this case, from an advertisement produced by Americans for Prosperity:
So here’s my question: if this is the best AFP can do, does that mean that no one is truly being harmed by Obamacare? … If this is happening to a lot of people, finding a dozen or so of them shouldn’t be hard. But apparently it is. So maybe it’s not actually happening to very many people at all?
…. It’s not as if the occasional Obamacare horror story turns out to be exaggerated; every single one propagated by Republicans has fallen apart under scrutiny.
…. The lesson for the press? If you want a nice, easy, debunking story, focus on Republican claims about Obamacare.
Full post here
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FACT: Under President Obama, we’ve reduced the deficit by more than half. http://t.co/eG1xu4PuZa, pic.twitter.com/vCP36dKjkv
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 20, 2014
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Steve Benen: Obama moves away from chained CPI
Last spring, President Obama signaled to congressional Republicans that he was serious about a long-term debt-reduction deal. GOP leaders made it explicitly clear: if the White House really wants a deal, Obama will have to accept a change to how Social Security benefits are calculated – a policy called “chained CPI,” in reference to the Consumer Price Index.
To the severe disappointment of his progressive allies and Democratic base, the president agreed, including chained CPI in his budget as a demonstration of his commitment…
In theory, this was poised to be a breakthrough moment for a bipartisan debt-reduction agreement. But in practice, the president’s effort was for naught …. A year later, the president has decided there’s no point in offering Republicans what they want if they’re not prepared to take “yes” for an answer – Obama’s new budget plan drops chained CPI.
More here
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John Boehner: “I’d commit suicide before I vote on a clean minimum-wage bill.” No, really: http://t.co/xF8JGMOUie
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) February 21, 2014
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THEY’RE LISTENING: We’re in talks with Facebook to #EndFacebookGunShows for good. Keep up the good work!
— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) February 21, 2014
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I’m working on a Buzzfeed list of the top 50 states in no particular order.
— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) February 20, 2014
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On This Day:
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama cheer during their daughter Sasha Obama’s basketball game, Feb. 21, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama smile as they walk through the crowd at the Governors Ball in the State Dining Room of the White House, Feb. 21, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)
Pete Souza: “The President and First Lady were dancing along to the music of the Harry Connick, Jr., Big Band at the Governors Ball. Mrs. Obama turned towards me and, for one split second, looked right at me. Usually I strive to capture moments when the subjects are unaware of the camera. But this an exception where I actually liked that she was looking at me.” Feb. 21, 2010
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama applaud the performance of Harry Connick Jr. and the Big Band during the Governors Ball in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 21, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama gestures during a meeting in the Oval Office, Feb. 21, 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama reads a document in the Oval Office, Feb. 21, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama and VP Biden following remarks on the extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance, Feb 21 2012
Mick Jagger performs “I Can’t Turn You Loose” during the “In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues” concert in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 21, 2012 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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MoooOOOooorning everyone, I ran out of news-gathering time again, will catch up later. Happy Friday!
The Obama Diary 
Good Morning! Thanks for all these great videos! ♥
GM, CMae. I like that dancing baby you shared.
Thank you VC. Did you see it on twitter? I’m just getting on the computer so that’s all I know this morning.
Yes, I did.
Mooooooorning CarolMae, mooooorning everyone!
Mooorning it is, Chips. 😉
“The party of health care should collect stories of success and confront the party of no.”
Riiiiight… When that happens, I’ll be dancing with nubile angels.
Discriminating against we angels who are not nubile? Tut-tut.
Can’t a man have even dreams?
wimmin/smh
politically correct dreams all the way, baby.
Oookay. You get one dance. As long as you can tolerate toe stepping.
One will be enough. 😀 Give me a little time to go find some reinforced toe dress shoes.
You have reinforced toe dress shoes.???
wimmin have everything.
Have ‘to go find’ them somewhere as I’ve never previously had a dance offer like yours.
They are posted, but maybe only I see them. Glad I’m not alone. I did brush my teeth this morning! 😀
Yes, they are and they are all from O team and O bots. Where are the boneless wonders called the dem pols?
You’ll always be my angel, tooths brushed or not.
Thanks amk. Well we know the MSM won’t do it. We’re the foot soldiers! Doesn’t this party look fun? Even Pete Souza was enjoying it. Nice to have a job you enjoy.
Meet the default caucus
By BY CHRISTOPHER INGRAHAM
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In essence, Capito voted to run up charges on the nation’s credit card and then refused to pay the bill when it came due. And she wasn’t alone: 135 representatives and 17 senators voted the same, a ‘default caucus’ made up almost exclusively of Republicans. Many – perhaps even most – of these legislators may very well have liked to vote ‘yes’ on the debt ceiling bill, but felt constrained against doing so by pressure from Tea Party-aligned deficit hawks. But the fact a significant faction in Congress can vote to run up debt, refuse to pay for it, and bill themselves as “fiscal conservatives” shows just how much that term has lost its meaning. You can search below to see how your representatives voted on these measures. (Capito did not respond to a request for comment).
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/20/meet-the-default-caucus/?utm_content=buffer7b0d2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
https://twitter.com/amk4obama/status/436882528180666368
G’morning Chips, TOD, lurkers, everyone and congrats CarolMae on #1 🙂
Thanks Chips for all the lovely pics, videos, memories from last year, and Obamacare news – fabulous R & S collection. Will the Democratic Governor’s association mtg be carried live?
https://twitter.com/lis_Smith/status/436879495111663616
Good ad…..I hope to see it running here in Georgia
Well I’m going to BBL to see all these great picks and videos and see what else is going on. Hope there is no major damage from the storms. Enjoy your day!
GM & Wonderful R&S, Chips! Congrats, Carol……… AMK, always sloppy seconds 😎
WASHINGTON — The first black woman to win the crown of Miss Israel says she believes the country has real problems with its treatment of refugees and immigrants from Africa but that the situation is improving.
“I’m not ashamed to say that there is racism in Israel; it’s a problem, but it’s a problem that Israel is working on and it’s something that Israel is trying to fix and it’s actually improving,”
“I don’t feel the racism, me, exactly,” Aynaw said. “But my family feels it sometimes.” Aynaw is in the United States this week on invitation of the Israeli Embassy. She traveled first to New York and then to Washington, where she met with members of the city’s large Ethiopian community. She also played basketball with members of the Philadelphia 76ers……..”
Good mooooorning LP!! Just saw your message, congratulations on getting that cast off, it must be a huuuuuuuge relief!
Indeed it is, Chips! I have a Biology test in an hour I’m studying for, but plan on stalking TOD this weekend 🙂 We will catch up in earnest then-TTYS
Oh yikes, in an hour? You are the calmest student I have ever come across, I used to be in a complete tizzy before exams! Best of luck LP!
More like a terrible student……… I’ve been watching live stream of Olympics since 6:00 a.m. Studying has taken a back seat 😦 OK GTG!!!!!
Harper thinks he is PBO – making special phone calls and all that…. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Holy heck, what next?!
The whole East Coast facing a line of severe thunderstorms today. And then next week, back to the freezing temps! We can’t catch a break…
Holy heck is right. Geesh! I’m downtown right in the heart of it. I hope this doesn’t materialize.
Keep safe Donna!
As we used to say in Florida during hurricane season, hunker down! Take care, Baby O’Donna.
Locusts?
Hope not. Mornin’!
GM all fellow TODvillians from frozen Chicago. I mean that literally. A lot of snow melted yetsreday with around an inch of rain also falling. Temps plunged, so guess what happened to the water?
I have truly come to hate winter.
Anyway, I have a warning to issue to all our Canadian TODers. My son, who is in the Army and commands many, many troops, has told me that if Canada wins the hockey game today, he is going to invade and confiscate all the maple syrup and walleye and leave Justin Bieber behind.
😆 I can now picture VC building a trench around her home!
I waited a while before coming back to see if she would respond. I think she has already passed out in fear of having Bieber back.
Japa, I keep bouncing in and out following links from Chips’ R & S, plus wandering in and out of twitter, so I haven’t been following the thread comments here.
Re Bieber, he’s totally and completely all yours. Americans can’t accept people with open arms on the basis of the outward package (and their questionable talents), then want to throw them away when you open the package and discover their insides are not to your liking. You ‘bought’ him, he’s all yours! Enjoy!
Troops, mostly male, coming to visit – forget the trench, CC! 😀 Go Canada, Go! You can do it, Canada!
Hmmmm. In other words, they will be greeted with flowers, candy and women (at least 1 anyway). Right?
Should I drive up there to “supervise”?
No moving the goal posts, please. The original deal was for maple syrup and walleye. (My counteroffer nixed the Bieber portion.)
Tell young Japa, no need to invade. When Canada wins, we’ll open our doors wide and will gladly share our maple syrup. Some of us will give him all the walleye he can eat IF he agrees to keep Bieber.
Good Morning VC,
We’ll keep Bieber but you must take the CRUZ back. Send his father to Cuba if you may but, please, take this Teabagger back.
{{{NCLB}}} Glad to see you’re here!
……………………
Sorry, no deal. First you welcome these, these, ….. I don’t know…, then you puff them up with a sense of their own importance, and when they become overinflated with self, you want to pawn them off. No way, no how. You break ’em (in), you’ve bought ’em.
ps. Maybe Cuba will take them all – Cruzes and Biebers. I say it’s worth a try on your part.
Woot. The power of the Obamas.
Hay right wing haters, Jimmy Fallon gets ratings bump thanks to the United States wonderful First Lady.
Now that is affordable health insurance for you. 🙂
So his boss/colleagues can’t smell?
Back When Fox Was Fine With Raising The Minimum Wage
by Eric Boehlert
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Not that long ago, the conservative movement and its media allies wanted to be seen as the champions of America’s working class. Today, as Fox News leads a barrage of attacks against wages, benefits, time off and flexibility, everyday workers have become a favorite right-wing target.
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http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/02/21/back-when-fox-was-fine-with-raising-the-minimum/198164
Today Show was promoting an interview with First Lady Michelle Obama by Jenna Bush Hager which will air next week. I didn’t catch the subject matter—–physical fitness or expanding education opportunities?
Burned out from politics, Republican messaging guru Frank Luntz is taking his talents to sports media.
Luntz will join Fox Sports 1 as an “exclusive sports communications analyst,” the fledgling network announced Thursday.
According to the announcement, Luntz will primarily contribute to the network’s nightly flagship program “Fox Sports Live.” He’ll also get to show off his speciality as host a segment called “Sound Off,” which will feature taped focus groups covering a wide range of sports issues.
“It may surprise people, but sports are my passion, and I love the excitement and intensity on and off the field,” Luntz said in the press release. “There is a right way and a wrong way to communicate to viewers, fans and players, and I plan to bring analysis and accountability to the language of sports and those who play them.”
Luntz appeared to be at a personal and professional crossroads when he posed for a profile last month in The Atlantic. In the piece, he expressed disenchantment with politics and said he’d love to serve as a Hollywood consultant but couldn’t get anyone in show business to return his calls.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/frank-luntz-fox-sports-1
Frank Luntz; right-wing fear monger extraordinaire hosting a sports talk show, nothing can go wrong with that.
Remind me to write his debut on my calendar. Or remind me to rip up my calendar and try to get him out of my mind.
Obviously, the guy never played sports, but thinks he can talk about them. Just like he did with politics.
Hey, Frank, my focus group consensus is: Begone!
Mitch McConnell is one sick puppy! I think he should stick to “wanting to make Barack Obama a one-term President”.
Hey, Mitch, how’s that one-term-president thingie workin’ out for ya?
https://twitter.com/amk4obama/status/436894545284833280
😆 😆
Just looking at this picture shared by Chips above made me smile. Those guys on the other side never elicit a smile even on their best days.
Love this law.
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/436896580054966272
Smart wife – if you can’t beat them, join them?
I’ve got a copy of that!! It’s fab!!
Okay, is it just a 1-2 page article with not enough pictures?
112 pages of all FLOTUS and pictures, pictures PICTURES!!!
ALL Flotus!!! THANKS for this info, Lynn. I will definitely be hunting for this Essence. Usually in my corner of the world I have to either wait forever for certain magazines to hit shelves near me, or take a trip to scout the shelves in the ‘south’ – a sometimes frustrating activity.
Glad I could add something productive, vc. Almost entirely full page photos. Absolutely stock up on smelling salts and reupholster the fainting couch. I keep my copy in my glass china cabinet (with my few true treasures) where I can see it from my desk all day.
What’s the date on it, Lynn, so I know what I’m looking for when I go in?
Oops. Posted before I saw this response. I looked for a print number, but found none. Parts of it were previously published in ESSENCE magazine in 2012. You could probably ask for it by the title “A Salute to MICHELLE OBAMA” in the perfect bound version. There may be a hard copy version. Hope this helps. Let me know how it shakes out. I’m usually up to 3 days behind, but I always catch up.
Valuable identifying info that will help me in my investigations ••►’Salute to MICHELLE OBAMA” in the perfect bound version’.
Much appreciated – thanks heaps!
Phone # 1 (800) 327-6399 from the magazines 4th page. Hope this helps, vc.
Thanks so much – will report in when I get it.
HEADLINE: Michelle Obama’s Black Jumpsuit on The Tonight Show: Get the Look!
// FLOTUS really can do no fashion wrong. For her latest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, Feb. 20, Michelle Obama looked incredibly chic in a black jumpsuit. She accessorized the cowl-necked one-piece with a wide black belt with leather piping and black pointy-toed kitten heels.
If the first lady’s look has you jumping for a jumpsuit, try the similarly styled Mango Draped Neckline Jumpsuit. At $89.99, the sleeveless jersey piece features an elastic waist and a flattering cowled neckline. Finish the FLOTUS-inspired styled with the Three-Strap Sash Belt from Mango ($14.99) and a black heels. //
Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-style/news/michelle-obamas-black-jumpsuit-the-tonight-show-get-the-look-2014212#ixzz2tyV8kX9t
Three 19-year-old freshmen at the University of Mississippi are wanted for questioning in the racially charged vandalism that took place last weekend at the school, according to University Police Chief Calvin Sellers.
According to a statement released Friday from the university, Sellers and investigators had gathered enough evidence by Wednesday night to bring charges against two of the students.
Sellers said the names of the three students, all white males, had figured prominently in the investigation into the defacement of a campus statue honoring James Meredith, the school’s first black student. A noose and a flag showing the “stars and bars” of the Confederacy were draped over the statue early Sunday morning.
University police were stymied in their efforts to question the three students on Thursday night when attorneys representing the young men declined to make them available without a search warrant.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ole-miss-statue-james-meredith-three-freshmen-charges
Wow. The more things change, the more some psychopaths try to make them stay the same.
7 fatal shootings last night in Indianapolis, including a 16 yr. old. Have gun, will shoot.
http://www.wthr.com/story/24781701/2014/02/20/four-found-dead-in-south-indianapolis-home
I used to watch that. Richard Boone right?
Have gun will travel was about a gunman for hire to kill people.
My apologies to the lady behind FLOTUS in the picture on the previous post. I see her in a picture on this post, and she is smiling and clapping. She was probably caught in that moment like we all are at times, when we wish the camera hadn’t snapped.
Yup….see my comment on previous thread also 🙂
Hi everyone,
As you can see from my tweets I am single minded in my pursuit of all things Christie. I posted this diary on DK, which I know is not a popular place but I use whatever I can to get out the word.
This is a diary on Christie’s recent town hall. Or should I say town fail.
https://twitter.com/NJedwina/status/436907852825772032
I signed on to rec your diary. Nice job!!
thank you so much
that is so nice of you, thank you.
thank you edwina – and right after that town hall he left NJ for more GOP money raising – the only thing the GOP cares about – money.
New plant in Fl. is turning Disney World food scraps into electricity and fertilizer. Advantage over wind and solar is this electricity can crank out kilowatts 24/7, when wind isn’t blowing, when the sun isn’t shining. Also—-saving on landfills. Wave of future?
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-restaurant-scraps-to-energy-20140220,0,551971.story
What a dam stupid statement, from a dam sorry speaker.
Latest from Ukraine:
The government and opposition agree to early elections.
The parliament is considering a law which will free Yulia Timoshenko.
This org., begun by a mom of 5 in Indy and now with members in every state, is working daily to make a difference everywhere they can. Deserve much credit and support.
Chat away:
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/02/21/chat-away-330/
And this is one of the reasons I am single minded about Christie
https://twitter.com/NJedwina/status/436921336099663872
Great tweeting Edwina, thanks for the heads up Donna!